Five UW graduate students were selected for the 2022/2023 Bioengineering Cardiovascular Training Program (BCTP). Supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the BCTP provides funding for predoctoral students interested in cardiovascular science and engineering to train under the guidance of mentors. The five trainees, all from bioengineering – Savannah Bifulco, Ariana Frey, Kerry Kao, Casey Kiyohara and Hao Zhou – will participate in a one or two-year program to enrich their research and support the future of cardiovascular-related research and technology development in the United States.
The holistic program gives students several opportunities to further their knowledge and grow their careers through immersive research experiences, clinical application and classroom instruction. Each student works in a BCTP faculty mentor’s lab and focuses on an aspect of cardiovascular physiology, pathology, development of therapeutic treatment, diagnostics and/or imaging. In addition to being mentored by a faculty member, trainees serve as mentors to an undergraduate researcher, high school student or community college attendee. Peer mentoring, within the program, is being developed as part of the curriculum as well as opportunities to interact with trainees of other UW programs.